The most-asked "how do I play this" question has a negative answer today: the over the hill demo is gone. It ran during Steam Next Fest in June 2026, was extended once, and closed on June 29, 2026 at 12:00 CEST. There is no public download, and we will not pretend otherwise. What exists instead is a limited playtest, run through the official Discord.
The demo timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2026 | Demo goes live for Steam Next Fest, featuring the Emerald Lake area (Canada region) |
| During fest | Photo contest runs alongside; demo extended past the festival week |
| June 29, 2026, 12:00 CEST | Demo closes for good; photo contest deadline the same day |
| June 30, 2026 | Photo contest winners announced |
| Since July | Limited playtest weekends replace the open demo |
| October 14, 2026 | Full game launches on Steam |
Why the demo closed
The developers answered this directly in their August progress post: "We would have loved to keep it running too, but we want to ensure it represents over the hill at its best. As a small team, maintaining a demo build and free servers worldwide is not feasible for us before the launch." Keeping a demo alive costs build maintenance and server money, and the team chose to spend both on the launch build.
What the demo contained
Emerald Lake was the playable area, in the Canada region. Community coverage of the demo documents: multiple unlockable 4x4s, a pebbles economy earned mostly from meteorites (players measured 15–30 pebbles per meteorite and about 675 to fully upgrade a vehicle), cabins and lodges to unlock, a photo mode that the community leaned into hard, and an animal photo journal with some animals not yet enabled. One caveat: those pebble figures are player measurements from a demo build, not published game constants, and may change at launch.
⚠️ Unconfirmed. The official FAQ says "there may be a demo closer to release". Whether one actually returns before October 14 is not decided publicly. Demo save files are planned to carry over to the full game, but the FAQ itself says a 100% guarantee is not possible yet.
How to play before launch
- Join the official Discord (invite link is on the Steam store page and the official site).
- Watch the playtest-signup channel for announcements.
- Sign up when a playtest weekend opens; spots are limited.
There is no other legitimate route: no pre-orders exist (see the price page), no beta keys are sold, and the release date is October 14 on Steam. When you get there, six areas across Canada and Algeria are waiting; the structure is on the maps page, and every other recurring question is in the FAQ.
FAQ
Can I still download the over the hill demo?
No. It closed on June 29, 2026 and the download is gone. Any site offering a demo download today is not offering the real thing.
Will the demo come back?
Maybe. The official FAQ says "There may be a demo closer to release." Nothing firmer than that has been announced.
How do I play over the hill early?
Sign up for a playtest weekend in the official Discord's playtest channel. Access is limited, and signups open in waves.
Do demo saves carry over to the full game?
That is the plan, stated twice by the developers, but the FAQ adds they cannot guarantee it 100% yet because the full build is still being finalized.
Was there a reward for completing the demo?
Not announced. Community members have asked; there is no official answer.